They put us to work at the registration desk the next two days, so starting
from our initial orientation, we worked 6 straight days. On our first
day off, it was time to go buy some groceries. Unlike home, where this
can be done fairly easily, here it is necessary to drive out of the park to
find a decent grocery store. Grant Village is nearest the south entrance
to Yellowstone, so we headed south to Jackson, WY, about an hour and twenty
minutes one way. Jackson is located just south of Grand Teton National
Park, so normally some outstanding mountain views are seen on this drive.
Unfortunately, smoke from the east Yellowstone fires reached down there,
too, and we could barely make out the magnificent Teton range across Jackson
Hole Valley.
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View of Grand Teton from Snake River Overlook,
nearly obscured by smoke from the Yellowstone fires.
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Having taken care of necessary business on our first day off, we could
play
on our second day off. The Upper Geyser Basin, where Old Faithful is
located, is only 17 miles north of Grant Village so we put on our tourist
hats and went up there for the day.
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The Firehole River
rises near the Continental Divide and flows north. The Kepler Cascades
are a few miles upstream of the Upper Geyser Basin.
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The land flattens into a broad plain as the
Firehole enters the Upper Geyser Basin. The Old Faithful Inn can be
seen in the distance.
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The Old Faithful Inn is a magnificent log structure,
built in 1903, so it is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
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The interior of the Inn displays its rugged,
rustic, wooden construction details.
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The huge multi-storied lobby of the Old Faithful
Inn is worth visiting in its own right.
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Old Faithful Geyser erupts roughly
every 90 minutes. A time board in the Inn gives the prediction of the
next eruption.
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Between eruptions, a wisp of
steam emerges from Old Faithful's vent.
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During an eruption, crowd pleasing plumes of super-heated
water and steam shoot an average of 160 feet into the air.
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There is much more to see in the Upper Geyser
Basin than Old Faithful, as the Firehole River winds through an area filled
with geysers, hot springs, and steam vents known as fumeroles.
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Morning Glory Pool is one of the more colorful
in the basin. The greens, yellows, and browns are algae that thrive
in the hot mineral rich water.
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Geysers come in all sizes, shapes, and activity
levels. Sawmill Geyser erupts almost constantly to a height of
up to six feet. Sawmill emerges from a pool rather than a vent.
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Comet Guyer is another of the
smaller guyers in near constant activity.
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| When Grotto Geyser first formed, it engulfed
trees with travertine deposits, creating the distinctive cone formation you
see here. |
Chromatic Pool
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Daisy geyser is another of the
larger predictable geysers in the Upper Basin. We were lucky enough
to come upon it a few minutes before it was due to erupt.
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